Xplorer shoes offer advanced personal location services

January 29, 2007 We’ve written several times about the concept of electronically fencing dogs and cats for their safety, or the safety of others. Similarly, as GPS technologies have become commercially viable, of tracking assets and loved ones to ensure their safety. Now personal location services company GTXC Corporation, is set to unveil a line of Xplorer Smart GPS shoes at the World Shoe Association (WSA) in Las Vegas on February 1 which offer a range of new opportunities. Xplorer shoes incorporate a small and robust GPS tracking device which hooks up with GTXC's internet user portal to offer a very compelling array of personal location services. The portal enables caretakers to easily define safe zones or un-safe zones or geographical boundaries on a Google Earth map and to set up cell phone alerts if a perimeter is breached by the wearer. This should significantly benefit caretakers of children and the elderly, as they can easily customize their monitoring and text location alerting through a simple "set it and forget it" system. The shoes also employ assisted GPS for enhanced indoor location accuracy, and will transmit for days before a recharge is needed. The intelligent power source enables a guardian to track the whereabouts of a loved one and the performance and status of the device itself from any handheld. Xplorer is inviting discussion with footwear and clothing manufacturers interested in pursuing the myriad opportunities for the device in areas such as military, maritime and law enforcement, personal health monitoring, physical training, live real-time gaming for groups of wearers, and even extending to interaction with appliances and other household items.

The device contains a GPS receiver, cellular phone, motion detector, battery charger, weighs in at just over an ounce and is slightly larger than a match box as well as being waterproof, shockproof and interchangeable as is the external, rechargeable battery.

it uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) location reporting platform to determine its location, then it forwards that information with a time stamp over the GSM cellular system to a central data receiving location. The information is processed and made available over the internet. It can be accessed with any internet connected PC, laptop or PDA and location information is displayed as a location on a Google map.

GTXC CEO Patrick Bertagna believes the Xplorer smart GPS tracking shoe is a disruptive technology and will “transform the way people think about buying clothing and footwear”.